


Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, Green, Pale Blue

by jack_hunter



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Heirlooms, I wrote this in an hour its probably really bad, Light Angst, Mother-Son Relationship, Padawan Beads, Padawan Braids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25790632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jack_hunter/pseuds/jack_hunter
Summary: “I have something for you, Padawan,” Master Billaba said. She placed her datapad down on the small table next to the bunk, retrieving a rolled up piece of fabric tied with a strip of ribbon from where it sat. She began to untie the ribbon, and Caleb - ever the inquisitive one - leaned forwards to peer at the strange item. The anxiety he had felt seemed to take a step back as the curiosity overtook his mind. Master Billaba unrolled the fabric on her lap.Inside lay a thin black cord, ends clipped together by a simple magnetic clasp like one found on a necklace or bracelet. Six beads sat on the cord in a specific order: Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, Green, Pale Blue.Caleb recognised the beads. They were padawan beads.
Relationships: Depa Billaba & Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus
Comments: 3
Kudos: 78





	Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, Green, Pale Blue

Caleb would have been lying if he said he hadn’t felt a bit of fear pulse through his heart when Master Billaba called him to her quarters. Their previous mission had gone badly and Caleb knew he was to blame; his inexperience and recklessness nearly cost them the entire battalion and he had felt the stares of the men as they returned to the star destroyer. His Master had scolded him in private just a few hours earlier after their meeting with the Council, dismissing the young boy back to his quarters to reflect on his actions and the consequences they caused. For a long time, the new padawan had just sat on the floor staring at a spot on the wall, dreading what would happen when they returned to Coruscant. Would he be sent back to the Creche? Would he have to face the sympathy from the other Younglings who knew had lost his only chance of becoming a Jedi? 

That was why, when he stood outside the door to his Master’s quarters, Caleb hesitated before knocking. His stomach churned as he tried to reach out through the still-fragile bond he shared with Master Billaba, but he just found a muted emptiness. He winced, knocking thrice on the durasteel, and only hesitated a moment before pressing the button next to the frame and stepping inside when a voice told him to enter. 

Master Billaba sat on her bunk with a datapad in her hands. She had let her hair down and it fell over her shoulders, slightly hiding her eyes as she scrolled through the device, but she looked up when the door opened and smiled, her eyes softening. Caleb looked at his feet, fingers wringing together. “You... wanted to speak to me, Master?” he asked, glancing up just in time to see Master Billaba pat the empty space next to her on the bunk. Caleb shuffled over, carefully perching himself on the edge of the bed and clasping his hands in his lap. He didn’t look back up until a hand gently fell onto his shoulder. 

“I have something for you, Padawan,” Master Billaba said. She placed her datapad down on the small table next to the bunk, retrieving a rolled up piece of fabric tied with a strip of ribbon from where it sat. She began to untie the ribbon, and Caleb - ever the inquisitive one - leaned forwards to peer at the strange item. The anxiety he had felt seemed to take a step back as the curiosity overtook his mind. Master Billaba unrolled the fabric on her lap. 

Inside lay a thin black cord, ends clipped together by a simple magnetic clasp like one found on a necklace or bracelet. Six beads sat on the cord in a specific order: _ Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, Green, Pale Blue. _

Caleb recognised the beads. They were padawan beads. 

“This is my lineage heirloom,” Master Billaba explained, gently picking the item up in her hands. She placed it in one palm, ensuring all the coloured beads were laid flat, “these beads were mine when I was a padawan,” she gently traced the second set of beads -  _ Brown, Green, Pale Blue _ \- with her finger before moving to the first set -  _ Pale Blue, Green, Yellow _ \- and doing the same, “and these were my Master’s beads from his own padawan braid. We add them to the cord when we are knighted.” Master Billaba carefully undid the clasp, holding it up at Caleb’s eye line. 

“What’s it for?” Caleb asked his master. 

“It is a reminder of those who came before us,” Master Billaba replied, “so we never forget the importance of our lineage and that, one day, we will have a student of our own who we will teach the same lessons we have been taught for generations to. Master Windu added his beads, I added mine,” Master Billaba, with the cord clasps still in her hands, reached around Caleb’s neck and clipped the magnets back together, adjusting the cord so it sat just above the neckline of Caleb’s tunic. The young boy brought his hands up to catch the beads in his hands, staring down at them as best he could and admiring each scratch, chip and mark that had come with age, “and one day, you will add your own.” 

Caleb gingerly fiddled with his own braid, the  _ Green, Dark Blue and Brown _ beads dangling there where he had chosen them weeks ago. “Until a time when you have a padawan of your own,” Master Billaba continued, “I want you to promise me that you will never take it off. That way you will never lose it, and never lose sight of your place in this lineage.”

“... I promise!” Caleb replied. 

When they arrived back on Coruscant, Caleb could have sworn he saw Master Windu glance at the beads that rested just above Caleb’s tunic, and smile at him.

Fifteen years later and the beads still hung on their cord around Kanan’s neck, hidden underneath his shirt where no one except himself knew they existed. It was one of the few things he had left of his Master, and one of the few reminders of his past he could stand to look at. Kanan kept his promise, never taking the cord off, but then Ezra came tumbling into his life and Kanan found himself sitting at his small desk, his old padawan braid laid out before him as he reflected on the words Master Billaba had spoken to him that day. 

“ _...one day, we will have a student of our own who we will teach the same lessons we have been taught for generations to... _ ” The conversation repeated over and over in his mind, his thoughts bouncing between the lessons he had learned and the young teen that was outside playing with the loth-cats he had made friends with. Things had been difficult between them. Ezra’s anxiety about his place on the  _ Ghost  _ and Kanan’s frustration about his inability to teach properly had created a rift that felt too large to fix no matter how much Master and Padawan tried. 

“ _...until a time when you have a padawan of your own… _ ” Kanan’s braid stared back at him, the  _ Green, Dark Blue and Brown _ beads bringing back memories of the classes he had taken and the lessons he had learned during his short time as a padawan. He began undoing the braid, slipping the beads from their place and carefully discarding the locks of hair. 

_ “...I want you to promise me that you will never take it off…”  _ Kanan reached behind his neck and, with just a brief pause, he undid the clasp and laid the cord down on the desk, straightening it out. Off came the right-most clasp, the magnet slipping off with ease, and on Kanan slipped his own padawan beads. 

_ “... that way you will never lose it, and never lose sight of your place in this lineage…” _ Kanan fixed the clasp and admired his addition. _Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Brown, Green, Pale Blue, Green, Dark Blue Brown._ Satisfied, and just a little bit proud, Kanan got up and reached for his comlink. He asked Ezra to meet him in his cabin, sending as much reassurance as he could through their new bond before he sat down on his bunk and waited for his padawan to arrive. Not a minute later and three knocks came at the door, it sliding open to reveal Ezra, hair a mess and hands wringing together as nerves fluttered across their bond. 

Kanan patted the space on the bunk next to him. “I have something for you.”


End file.
